When I was young, I loved to run. It did not matter whether it was raining or snowing, I would be running early in the morning. If I let a few days go by without running, I would begin to feel sluggish. I enjoyed running not only for the exercise but also for the benefit of clearing my mind as I would begin a new day. When I didn't run, I would wake up focusing on the problems that I would have that day or the days ahead. But running gave me a respite from the problems around me.

As I have got older, I have found that my body can't take the abuse from running. My bones and joints began to give me some issues. I have found that skating, whether it be inline or roller skating can be a great replacement for running. I have found that skating can give me all the same benefits as running but without further damaging my bones and joints.

When I ran, the souls of my feet were absorbing the impact when my feet hit the ground. But when I would be roller or inlining, the skates would be absorbing much more, as much as 50 percent of the impact with each landing. Because the frames and wheels take the brunt of the impact, I found that my knees and ankles were not greatly impacted.

What this meant to me was that I could continue my exercising via skating without further damaging my joints, because of the minimum impact. I also found that I could skate longer than when I was running, which meant that I could burn more calories.

So if you are considering taking up this sport or have been running and thinking about taking skating up as a sport, let me share with you some of the benefits,

Clarity of Mind: This is a great benefit that is often over-looked by vigorous exercise. Whether you are skating intensely or casually, your mind will benefit.

Strengthen the Heart: This is quite obvious. Just like running, skating gives your heart a great workout without damaging your joints! In fact I think skating gives a better workout because you can do it for a longer period of time. If you are doing this for 30 minutes, you can get your heart rate up to 148pm

Weight Control: Since skating is a fun sport, you will get your exercise by having fun at the same time! If you spend 30 minutes on the skates, you will burn on average 285 calories. If you go fast on the skates, the calories burned will be much greater.

Coordination: When a child is young, this is very important to learn. But as we get older, it is very good to engage in a sport that continues to improve your coordination and balance. All this happen naturally as you skate.